Aichatou El-Rufai, the wife of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, has issued a pre-action notice to the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, over the continued detention of her husband.
In the notice, she is asking for N2 billion in damages over claims that the commission made false and harmful statements about her.
The request was included in a letter submitted by her lawyers after an ICPC press statement called “Clarification on the Access Control Protocol at ICPC Headquarters, Abuja” was published on May 18, 2026.
As per the notice, Mrs El-Rufai’s lawyers said that many parts of the statement, which was presented by ICPC spokesperson Okor Odey, were not accurate.
She claimed that Odey made false statements that seriously damaged her reputation.
The legal team clearly disagreed with the commission’s way of describing Mrs El-Rufai as “a woman who identified herself as the wife of a defendant.”
They argued that this wording questioned her position as the legal wife of the former governor.
They also argued that the commission’s statement calling her earlier claims “false and misleading” made her look dishonest and misleading, which harmed her reputation with the public.
The lawyers also disputed the claims that she broke visitation rules at the commission’s headquarters, saying that these accusations made her look like someone who ignores the proper procedures set by the organisation.
Also, the notice pointed out parts of the statement that, as per the legal team, implied that Mrs El-Rufai had been inconsistent about her claims that her husband was not given food while he was in custody.
The lawyers stated that the comments damaged her trustworthiness and honesty.
Alleged defamation: El-Rufai’s wife files N2bn suit against ICPC